Justin Rose becomes world No 1

“We did it, Dad,” Rose tweeted, in a tribute to his father and mentor, Ken, who died from cancer aged 57 in 2002.

Justin Rose's principal aim was to win the rain-delayed BMW Championship at Aronimink and as his putt from 12 feet traversed its sweet course to the cup on the 18th in regulation play, there was seemingly nothing stopping him. Yet it took a wicked, outrageous lip-out and, with a 67 and a 20-under total, he was forced into sudden death with the American Keegan Bradley (64).

Ultimately, Rose’s bogey on the same par four 20 minutes later was one to forget, but by then the achievement he will always remember was cast. “There’s an edge to my happiness,” Rose said. However, after a few moments of recollection, he acknowledged the scale of the feat. “It is the stuff of boyhood dreams,” he said, his smile widening by the second.